The study of human rights within the field of political science
was still in its infancy when UB faculty member Claude Welch turned
his research focus from the military and politics in Africa to
human rights in the continent.

Now, more than 30 years later, Welch’s colleagues call him
a “pioneer” and “one of the founders of the
field.”

With accolades such as these rolling in from prominent scholars
around the world, it’s no wonder that Welch, SUNY
Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Political
Science, has been selected to receive the 2014 Distinguished
Scholar Award from the Human Rights Organized Section of the
American Political Science Association (APSA).

Welch will receive the award, which recognizes an individual who
has worked in the field of human rights and has made “an
exceptional contribution to the field through research, teaching
and mentorship,” this weekend during the APSA’s annual
meeting in Washington, D.C.

The Distinguished Scholar Award is a lifetime achievement award,
explains Richard P. Hiskes, professor of political science at Grand
Valley State University and president of the human rights section
of the APSA.

“This is an award given to only a handful of prominent
scholars in the field of human rights, and is awarded on the basis
of a body of work that few have achieved within the discipline of
political science as a whole,” Hiskes says.

“Professor Welch is truly one of the founders of the field
of human rights within the profession of political science. His
books on human rights in Africa, Asia and Canada; his focus on
economic rights in Canada and elsewhere; and his work on the role
of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in human rights activism
have been foundational scholarly contributions,” he says.

“As a scholar, teacher and servant to the field of human
rights, Professor Welch has distinguished himself as a more than
deserving recipient of this prestigious award.”

David P. Forsythe, Emeritus Charles J. Mach Distinguished
Professor of Political Science at the University of Nebraska,
agrees.

“For some 40 years, Claude Welch has made important
contributions to our understanding of politics and society,”
Forsythe notes. “He has been especially insightful about
human rights nongovernmental organizations.

“If one looks at the corpus of his scholarship over time,
one sees not only great productivity in terms of books, chapters
and articles published, but also a determined effort to keep the
academic spotlight on what happens to individuals in the context of
political struggles. His focus on human rights, and in particular
human rights in Africa, reflects his personal commitment to trying
to make the world a better place,” Forsythe says.

In her letter to the APSA nominating Welch for the award —
which was supported by Forsythe and political scientists Mahmood
Monshipouri and Susan Dicklitch — Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann
calls Welch “a pioneer in the study of human rights in
Africa.”

“Throughout his career,” notes Howard-Hassmann,
Canada Research Chair in International Human Rights at Wilfrid
Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Welch “has
identified important new issues and conducted original field
research, often in politically sensitive areas and on politically
sensitive topics that others might think impossible to
research.”

A UB faculty member since 1964, Welch co-founded, with the late
UB law school professor Virginia Leary, the UB Human Rights Center
in the late 1980s. He was a member of the advisory committee for
the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch from 1989-2009.

His most recent work involves the effectiveness of human rights
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). He already has published four
books on this topic — “Human Rights in Asia”
(1990), “Protecting Human Rights in Africa: Strategies and
Roles of Non-Governmental Organizations” (1995), “NGOs
and Human Rights: Promise and Performance” (2001) and
“Economic and Social Rights in Canada and the United
States” (2006) — and currently is working on a
fifth.

That new book, “Protecting Human Rights Globally:
Strategies and Roles of International NGOs,” focuses on the
impact of such INGOs as Anti-Slavery, the World Council of Churches
and the Coalition for an International Criminal Court on major
human rights issue, notably modern-day forms of slavery, racism,
discrimination based on descent and impunity from prosecution for
major human rights abuses.

All told, Welch has published 14 books and nearly 40 book
chapters and articles in academic journals.

He received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award given in
2006 by TIAA-CREF and the SUNY Research Foundation “to
recognize individuals who embody the true spirit of the financial
services company’s mission: serving those who serve others
for the greater good.”

He received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in
Teaching in 1974 and is a three-time recipient of both the Milton
Plesur Award for teaching excellence from the UB undergraduate
Student Association and the Lisa Hertel Award for outstanding
professor from the Undergraduate Student Association in the
Department of Political Science.